Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES
HONEYWELL IS IN talks about becoming involved in Lockheed Martin's Autonomous Precision Approach and Landing System (APALS).
The US avionics company confirms: "There have been talks, and we are certainly kicking it around." The discussions are led by Honeywell's Business and Aviation Systems division, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Lockheed Martin wants to form a joint venture and use Honeywell's US Special Category I (SCAT-I), satellite-launching system for integration with the APALS where Category III capability is required until standalone APALS Cat III approval can be achieved.
Privately, senior Honeywell executives say that the decision on whether to pursue the APALS hangs on a knife-edge, with several concerns over "certification issues". These are thought to include technical and cost hurdles. Lockheed Martin needs a partner with relevant avionics experience because its APALS launch customer, Lone Star Airlines of Texas, requires only a Cat II system. The cost of certificating to more-exacting Cat III standards has driven the company to hunt for a partner.
Source: Flight International
